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A State of Emergency
The Second French Revolution? Following the beginnings of broadcasts from the Eiffel Tower, Georges Clemenceau addressed the French people on the 17th of August, a day after the Louvre Bombings, an infamous incident when revolutionary socialists set of a bomb inside the famous art museum the Louvre. In response, radical French nationalists murdered Jules Guesde, a prominent French socialist. When the sun set, it became clear; blood would spill tomorrow. An Infamous Radio Address Incumbent president Georges Clemenceau was not blind to the state of France. Moderates like himself would be crushed as fighting erupted on the streets. So, at eight in the morning, broadcasts echoed across France, recounting the incredible escalation of events. Clemenceau condemned both the socialist bombers and the nationalist murderers. Even if order lasted until September, the elections would surely spark a revolution. Therefore, he declared the elections canceled. Paris Riots The news of course, sent shockwaves across France. A militia several thousand strong marched through the Paris avenues, singing The Internationale for the world to see. The police remained calm, until one Edouard Herriot placed a red flag onto the Eiffel Tower, and shooting erupted. The police force was quickly sent in. A disciplined firing line shot into the crowd, killing fifteen. the militia dispersed across the Paris avenues, throwing bricks and rocks through the windows of rich landowners and firing upon policemen. For three hours, Paris became a battlefield. At the end of the battle, over three thousand were dead, mostly militiamen. The survivors, notably Edouard Herriot, the ostensible leader of the militia dispersed, to declare a revolution. A most regrettable Martial declaration The next day, Georges Clemenceau broadcasted the second public radio address, declaring Martial Law "Whenever, and wherever, militant socialists are found." By the Eighteenth of August, Herriot had fled to Calais where he planned to stage a revolution. The flag of the Paris Commune was raised over the harbor of Calais. The French Third Army, however, cracked down on his position. After only half a day, the Second French Revolution had ended, and Herriot fled to Engelsgrad, where he remains to this day. The woes of France are yet to end While the socialists had been driven out, Action Française had been dormant; now it struck. Charles Maurras, a fierce anti-intellectual monarchist, campaigning for the restoration of Prince Jean, head of the Bourbon dynasty, to the throne of France, declared for Clemenceau to be deposed. He did so in Bordeaux, as the French Army focused on Paris and its surrounding areas, where the socialist revolt took place. One true Patriot Following his declaration, Maurras was standing on a balcony. At 3:32 August 20th, Ludovic-Oscar Frossard pulled a pistol from his jacket, and shot Maurras twice in the head. Maurras' dead body fell off the balcony and into the rioting crowd. Frossard was grabbed by the rioters and beaten to death with baseball bats. With this, the Second Revolution was crushed in less than an hour. With the two most prominent socialists of France now dead, Léon Blum became head of the SFIO, and called for 'French Unity until the Kaiser is hung from the Brandenburg Gate. Then, we shall hang Clemenceau from the Eiffel Tower'